A Sweet Murder Read Online Free Page B

then, I was about to climb into the van but I sort of flew
in. Did you see me? Did that really happen?”
    Grace’s scalp
began to prickle, a feeling of unease settled in her stomach. She
hadn’t dealt with this kind of thing before, the ghost always knew.
How should she start?
    The ghost
smoothed down her dress. She reached into her dress pocket and
pulled out a white paper bag. She opened it up and popped a red
coloured sweet into her mouth – a ghost sweet?
    Grace sat down
next to the ghost. “I know what those are, I’ve been eating them
all morning.”
    The ghost
grinned, Grace got a whiff of strawberry. The ghost said, “These
are my very favourite. I love other sweets but I can’t live without
my strawberry bombs!”
    “ I
think you can,” Grace replied without thinking.
    “ Sorry? What do you mean by that? Now that we’re alone you can
answer my questions. First of all, where are we? And what was I
doing in that unit thing? Did someone put me in there for a joke?
If so, it wasn’t a funny joke, I could have died!”
    The ghost
laughed, Grace didn’t.
    Grace looked at
the floor and tried to gather her thoughts. There really wasn’t an
easy way to tell her. Mum used to say the truth sounded better in
shorter words, especially if they were painful words.
    Grace looked
into the face of the old woman, she had such kind eyes, eyes that
probably twinkled when she was alive.
    Grace gently
said, “You’re not alive any more, you’re dead.”
    There was a
silence. Grace watched the woman’s face as confusion and then
denial swept over her features. She burst out, “Don’t be silly! Of
course I’m alive. You can see me, you’re talking to me!”
    “ I
can see ghosts,” Grace explained. “Think about it, no one else
could see you. The man in the locker couldn’t see you and my
brother, Frankie, the one who was just here, couldn’t see you
either. You passed through his body when you came into the
van.”
    “ But
I can’t be dead! I don’t remember dying, surely I’d
remember?”
    “ Maybe it’s a good thing that you don’t remember. Perhaps your
brain, or soul, or whatever, is protecting you from bad
memories.”
    Another silence.
Grace could almost hear the ghost’s thoughts.
    Sure enough, the
woman said what Grace was dreading. “Why would I want to protect
myself from bad memories?”
    Grace steeled
herself, this was harder than she thought. What she’d give for a
strawberry bomb now to steady her nerves! But she could hardly tuck
into a sweet at this moment.
    Grace said, “I
can see ghosts and I help them, some of them have unfinished
business. I’ve only been able to see them for the last year. The
ghosts that I’ve helped recently have been ... murdered ... and
I’ve helped them to catch their murderers.”
    The woman’s
mouth fell open. She stared at Grace.
    Grace carried
on. “The ghost are usually attached to an item, I think you’re
attached to this chair.”
    The woman closed
her mouth. She muttered, “Well, that’s a lot to take in all at
once.”
    She sat back in
the chair and took out another sweet. Grace took her opportunity
and took out a sweet too.
    They sat in
silence for a few minutes, chewing away. Then the woman said, “I
suppose it makes sense. I do feel peculiar, like my body is
floating around me somewhat.” She sat up straight. “Who would want
to kill me? And why?”
    “ That’s what we’re going to find out. It might take a while
for you to remember. Can you tell me your name? I’m Grace, Grace
Abrahams.”
    “ Grace, what a lovely name. I can remember my first name, it’s
Constance, I think people call me Connie. My surname, what is it
now? Something to do with a bird. I think it’s ...”
    The van doors
were flung open. Frankie stared in at her. “Grace, really? Hiding
in the van and stuffing your face with sweets?”
    Grace glanced at
the chair, Connie had disappeared. Grace stood up, she couldn’t
think of a good reason as to why she was